Abstract

Government initiatives in Australia in the late 1980s led to unprecedented changewithin the higher education sector, resulting in numerous college mergers andamalgamations as necessary prerequisites for entry into the post-binary UnifiedNational System. Consequently, the Australian Catholic University was formed in1991 through the amalgamation of four colleges or institutes of education thatspanned three states and a territory. Concurrently, pressures to increase economicefficiency in higher education resulted in the modification of the role ofuniversities, extensive cultural reorientation, and changes to academics' work thatimpacted on their health, well-being and level of satisfaction. This thesisinvestigates the nature and impact of change on sixty-nine academics situatedacross the campuses of the new University during this period of significantrestructuring and throughout its first five years of operation.The research is positioned within an interpretive theoretical framework that drawson the traditions of symbolic interactionism in understanding human action.Predominantly qualitative methods of inquiry and data collection are utilised toinvestigate academics' perceptions of: the broad changes within higher education;the organisational changes created by the formation of the new University; thechanging nature of their work; and, the approaches they adopted to cope with thechanges. Some simple quantitative measures are used to strengthen and extendthe analysis. Theoretical considerations relevant to the research are drawn fromthe authoritative literatures of organisational change and management, highereducation and stress and coping.The results of this study support the view that the organisational changes broughtabout by a radical restructuring of the higher education sector in Australia didimpact dramatically on the personal and professional lives of academics at thattime, with those academics situated towards the lower levels of the newUniversity more adversely affected. Virtually all academics interviewed hadmodified their work behaviour significantly from their former role; academicsstrongly oriented towards research more readily welcomed the changes, whilethose with a strong preference for teaching felt less valued and under pressure todevelop a research profile, upgrade qualifications and publish. There werenoticeable differences between academics' level of understanding of the changes.It was also notable that: (1) the personal impact was felt strongly in a negativeway by 62% of academics; (2) only 39% of academics interviewed expressedpositive feelings towards the changes overall; (3) 72% expressed the view thatthey were now working harder than ever before, when they had already beenoverworked. Three broad groupings of coping strategies were discernible fromthe analysis: Proactive, Reactive and Counter-active.Findings from the research support the importance of personal beliefs and valuesas contributing factors in determining academics' level of acceptance of thechanges, and preferences regarding perceptions of the nature and future directionof the University. While a strong commitment to the formation of the newUniversity was evident across all academic levels, considerable differencesexisted regarding its nature, role and future direction. This thesis argues that thecomplexity of organisational change necessitates an understanding of theparadoxical tensions or contradictions that are inherent in any change process andthese need to be considered in relation to the differing perspectives held byorganisational members. Eight contradictory tensions emerged from the analysis:pragmatism vs independent vision; centralised control vs local autonomy;academic freedom vs Catholic conservatism; teaching and learning vs researchand scholarship; equality of women vs patriarchal control; consolidation vsdiversity; autocratic managerialism vs democratic collegiality; and academicworkloads vs maintenance of quality.It is therefore argued that in the implementation of organisational change thereexists a need to properly address the tensions and ambiguities that arise betweenthe personal goals and expectations of individuals as professionals, and those heldby management. Greater opportunities for academics across all levels within theorganisation to participate in the decision-making process and play a proactiverole in shaping the direction of the developing institution would have facilitatedmore effective organisational change within this newly created University.

Australian Catholic University, College teachers, College teachers, College teachers, Educational change

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